New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that requires health insurers to cover life-saving biomarker testing, which allows for targeted cancer treatment. Dr. Thomas VanderMeer, the medical director of the Upstate Cancer Center, and Michael Davoli, the American Cancer Society’s senior government relations director for New York, explain how this will help people in this episode of "HealthLink on Air."
Biomarker testing is accomplished through a sample of blood or tissue from a biopsy, and results can help oncologists choose the best treatment for specific types of cancers. Before the new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, about a third of commercial health insurers in New York would pay for biomarker testing.
Also on this week's show, "urban foraging" refers to collecting edible plants, nuts and flowers that grow freely throughout a city. How this practice is being encouraged in Syracuse, as well as its nutritional aspects, is explained by two professors who have written about it: Anne Bellows and Sudha Raj, both on the faculty of Syracuse University's Falk College. Raj is a teaching professor with a doctorate in nutrition science, and Bellows is a professor of food studies, in the department of nutrition and food studies.
Listen to Healthlink on Air every Sunday at 6 a.m. on WRVO.